Visit Swiss Cooperation Office websites.
10 years to reverse desertification
In early September 2007, delegates from 191 countries gathered to fight desertification. A 10-year action plan was accepted.
Time is short. Inaction costs 24 billion tons of arable land and 40 billion dollars each year.
This brochure is about the harsh
and increasingly difficult livelihood situations of communities in desert margins and semi-arid areas. It discusses along selected project examples SDC’s endeavour to cope with recurring droughts,
scarcity of water and impoverishment of soils.  Fight against the desertification The scale of desertification in Mongolia is assuming worrying proportions, threatening the existence of nomadic herders. |
Current article |
Desertification: Responding to the silent plea of the land
The United Nations declared 2006 the "International Year of Deserts and Desertification" with the prime aim of raising the alarm and making people more aware of the dramatic reality which rarely hits the headlines, despite the mind-blowing statistics. Twenty-four billion tons of fertile soil are lost every year. Desertification affects one quarter of the Earth's surface and has already eroded two thirds of its farming land. To varying degrees, two billion people are confronted with the environmental, economic and social consequences of this silent – but not irreversible – disaster. Besides spotlighting the problem, the UN campaign revealed what action had already been taken or what still needs to be done to protect and revive the Earth's depleted soil.
Forests come before people, and deserts come after them.François René de Chateaubriand
Aral – The picture that speaks volumes
The rusting vessels tell the saddest of tales – the wrecking of our Planet. This was once the Aral Sea. At the beginning of the 19th century, its
blue waters lapped against gentle hills which are now part of an indescribably desolate landscape. From sand dunes to mounds of mud, this Sea gradually emptied. And the boats stranded there sum up
the dramatic impact of desertification in a single eloquent picture.
Of concern to us all
But this hopeless picture is not merely due to fate. Desertification is not the desert advancing but the haemorrhaging of the soil's vital nutrients to the point where
they are totally exhausted. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) refers to this phenomenon which affects, arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas as "land degradation".
Though Africa, Asia and Latin America are worst hit by desertification, it should not be forgotten that all continents apart from Antarctica are affected by it.
The role of Man
Desertification begins with any kind of damage to the soil's natural potential which jeopardizes the ecosystem's integrity. Sustainable, environmentally friendly
production, biological diversity and soil recovery capability are the three criteria to be taken into account in diagnosing this ailment. Several interlinked factors speed up the decline of fragile
soils damaged by radical climatic contrasts, but the decline is mainly due to the actions of Man. Overgrazing, over-use of the land, deforestation and inappropriate irrigation compound the growing
greenhouse effect and global warming caused by the intensification of human activity, thus creating a vicious circle.
Poverty and desertification: a downward spiral
Poor soil is often linked to the poverty of those who live on it. They are forced to overwork the land in order to survive. In the face
of the laws of the international market which takes the short-term view and in regions of the world where natural resources are undervalued, the local inhabitants, who are often among the poorest of
our planet, attend to the most urgent things first. Poverty and desertification follow on from each other in a deadly interplay of cause and effect, the full brunt of which is felt by 250 million
people among those who find it hardest to assert their right to development.
(Re)finding the right responses
Resignation should not be our response to this alarming situation. Solutions do exist for regenerating soil, combating the effects of wind, reforesting
and encouraging sustainable agriculture. Making a gradual change away from intensive monocultures and back to biodiversity gives depleted soil a chance to recover and people at risk a chance to
rediscover a brighter economic and social future. In this process, there is much to be learned again from the wisdom of traditional cultures which knew how to live in harmony with the most hostile
natural environments, developing flourishing civilisations that lasted for thousands of years. There are approaches which offer hope. Coping with Drought, a brochure published by SDC,
testifies to the effective solutions developed by local peoples with international support.
Combination of two Millennium Development Goals
In the wake of the Rio Summit, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) came into effect in 1996, stating the
resolve of the 190 signatory countries to fight against desertification and reduce the impact of drought. The Convention set itself the objective of promoting effective action at all levels, to
defeat this scourge. In September 2002, the World Summit on Sustainable Development designated land degradation as one of the major global environmental challenges. In particular, it called for the
sustainable management of natural or cultivated forests as a weapon against poverty. Thus, combating desertification combines two of the eight Millennium Development Goals established by the United
Nations at the end of 2002, namely to halve the proportion of poor people by 2015 and to ensure environmental sustainability.
SDC involvement in bilateral cooperation on combating desertification
SDC supports the UNCCD mandate by earmarking 58 million CHF a year for development projects and programmes that
target the particular problems of arid areas. Numerous projects are designed to preserve water and fertile land by means of sustainable agricultural production and forestry. Local players are trained
in handling sparse resources, support is provided for agricultural research projects and institutional reforms are prepared in the field of environmental management.
Switzerland's contribution to the International Year of Deserts and Desertification
In all, SDC contributed 400,000 CHF to the International Year of Deserts and Desertification in
2006, 70’000 CHF of which went straight to the UNCCD for raising international awareness. SDC's participation covered the international Conference on Desertification, Hunger and Poverty held in
Geneva, which was flanked by an exhibition called "Nomadic Deserts" sponsored by a private company. SDC also provided financial support for a series produced by the BBC entitled "Villages on the
Front Line".